RealGM

This is a difficult read. Granted Morey sees (and thus knows) a lot more than we do, but in the end all the extra stuff he is privy to is just a means to an end - and that end is looking mighty sick out there on the court.

From what we know of him a mid-season move would seem unlikely. He's pretty much unflappable, and is too smart to deal from a position of weakness. However, balanced against this is the fact that we are built to win now. That's the expectation. With the way the team is, can Morey afford to stand pat?

In cases like these, when a team is underperforming, the coach usually takes the blame. Only problem is that firing a coach midseason rarely leads to a turn-around (gotta find a suitable replacement, learn the system, etc), and, as I said, we have these expectations of winning now. So I dunno if Morey will go that route. Les might not like it either, given the trouble he went to ditch Gundy and get Adelman.

Therefore, trading Artest seems the most logical move if we're going to make one even though he's not exactly the root cause of this team's problems imo, and it's unclear whether Artest will fetch what ills this team. Still, am interested to see what you trade-heads can come up with, or if you even think Morey will make a move at all.

We're not going anywhere with this team, blow it up, rebuild. If you want to give it one more run, get as much value as you can before Artest bolts in FA.

Wow. Logic.

Agree with everything u said.

With that being said, Tmac, Artest and Alston all gotta go.

Tmac is a hindrance to the team. When he is playing he doesnt play hard. when we do get back into the game with bench play they bring him in to carry us to a loss... Did u see him get caught on the rim? that was amazing. i almost felt bad for him, then i realized he is getting paid like 20 mill a year to look like a fool. the game tonight sent me into a depression. I hope u are all ready for another first round loss.

Guy986 wrote:Wow. Logic.

Agree with everything u said.

With that being said, Tmac, Artest and Alston all gotta go.

those are the guys who are most likely to be traded

but, TCrack is frst on the list

Joe Johnson and Bibby... Bring em to Houston

HTown_TMac wrote:Joe Johnson and Bibby... Bring em to Houston

The Hawks are on the way up. I don't expect Atlanta to break up their team now that they are starting to gel.

Thanks for waking me up... Now I am thinking about this poor effort we call a game.

Yep. Artest isn't the issue but he is easier to move and will likely bring back a good player. McGrady is hard to move. Its likely that the Rockets will move him this summer...if not they'll just let his contract expire. IMO we are in a good position financially because regardless of what happens....in 18 months this team as we know it now is not gonna be there. So we can take some chances here with Artest and see if we can move Alston with him and try to land a PG that fits what we have been trying to do.

One thing is for sure..this team isn't going anywhere as currently constructed. I also think Adelman is on a short leash but I think we are still about 1 or 2 big roster moves before he comes under a legitimate hot seat. Its really not his fault that he has McGrady, Alston. Or that Battier is playing with severe injury or that Artest is playing for a contract and nothing else...and that Yao struggles against quicker front lines. Thats the team he has got. Everywhere he has won he had a PG. He had Porter..he had Bibby. I would like to see if he could make this work if we got ourselves a PG in the next couple of weeks.

Feigen has just written about Trade in his latest blog after the game against Bucks.
http://blogs.chron.com/nba/2009/02/rock ... es_th.html

"Yao remains untouchable. After that, Monday might be the last bit of evidence needed for Morey to most value those who most reliably play with heart and determination.

Perhaps that's what the Rockets need most and the quality Morey can find out there. It's time, past time, to forget about the preseason expectations and prognostications and judge this team solely by what shows up on the floor."
---------
"Every game offers evidence. The evidence has grown to overwhelming.

Morey has gone from planning only slight tinkering to hoping to be "opportunistic." The idea now has to become to be aggressive. He does not have to trade everyone. There are a lot of guys he probably can't trade, at least not in any deal he would or should consider. But if it is possible to forget the Rockets' latest flop, he should be sure to consider it with every phone call."
-------

10 days to closing of trade window. I expect some trades to take place. Hopefully Morey can come up big again.

Reja Bell for Shane Battier. Yes or no?

Teckon wrote:Feigen has just written about Trade in his latest blog after the game against Bucks.
http://blogs.chron.com/nba/2009/02/rock ... es_th.html

"Yao remains untouchable. After that, Monday might be the last bit of evidence needed for Morey to most value those who most reliably play with heart and determination.

Perhaps that's what the Rockets need most and the quality Morey can find out there. It's time, past time, to forget about the preseason expectations and prognostications and judge this team solely by what shows up on the floor."
---------
"Every game offers evidence. The evidence has grown to overwhelming.

Morey has gone from planning only slight tinkering to hoping to be "opportunistic." The idea now has to become to be aggressive. He does not have to trade everyone. There are a lot of guys he probably can't trade, at least not in any deal he would or should consider. But if it is possible to forget the Rockets' latest flop, he should be sure to consider it with every phone call."
-------

10 days to closing of trade window. I expect some trades to take place. Hopefully Morey can come up big again.

Have been stewing about this post-Bucks loss and completely agree with the bolded statements. Still not sure if we'll make a move, but in the event that we don't and our inconsistency remains I would suggest a solution based on the bolded statements.

Basically, our most consistent starting lineup was Yao/Wafer/Rafer/Battier/Scola. These guys all give the effort, and play well with each other. Plus, with Wafer out there, they were playing at a pace (more fast breaks, etc) that Adelman is more comfortable coaching. So, I would go with this starting lineup, giving these guys major minutes. Barry/Brooks/Artest/T-Mac off the bench at PG/SF/SG, and, depending on how they go during the course of the game allowing them to finish - more or less how Adelman manages Brooks right now.

Whether Adelman - a renowned 'players coach' - will have the stones to pull something like this remains to be seen. It has only been a handful of games with our current full roster and I guess it's possible that they might be able to develop the chemistry/consistency they need before the playoffs roll around. But with the WC as it is, I just hope Adelman has enough of a handle on this team to know when to cut his losses and shake things up before 'too late' rolls around and we end up facing the Lakers in the first round.

Facing the Lakers in the first round? hell I'll take making the playoffs at this rate...

I acknowledge that I may not be thinking straight but what do you guys think about: T-Mac + Landry for RIP & R.Wallece. Yall think Detroit is that desperate. I know I am.

red96 wrote:I acknowledge that I may not be thinking straight but what do you guys think about: T-Mac + Landry for RIP & R.Wallece. Yall think Detroit is that desperate. I know I am.

No Sheed's expiring contract is worth a player like Amare not McGrady. Detroit has their own thing. We need a point guard. And believe me...nobody wants McGrady right now.

I'm agreeing with Iggy. There pretty much isn't one team out there that will take T-Mac from us. And that's just how it is, his contract is way to big, and it really isn't worth any value in return for us. Artest and Alston might be on the move, IMO Billups is the perfect fit on this team, though that likely will never happen. Mike Bibby anyone? LOL we could trade T-Mac to NYK for Marbury.

Amel wrote:those are the guys who are most likely to be traded

but, TCrack is frst on the list

No he isn't.

red96 wrote:I acknowledge that I may not be thinking straight but what do you guys think about: T-Mac + Landry for RIP & R.Wallece. Yall think Detroit is that desperate. I know I am.

See your thread for a response about conducting business with non-financial desperation in mind.

grond wrote:In cases like these, when a team is underperforming, the coach usually takes the blame. Only problem is that firing a coach midseason rarely leads to a turn-around (gotta find a suitable replacement, learn the system, etc), and, as I said, we have these expectations of winning now. So I dunno if Morey will go that route. Les might not like it either, given the trouble he went to ditch Gundy and get Adelman.

I'm curious if we're about to see Les start looking out for the bottom line. He's certainly got to be seeing some competing interests between his short-term pocketbook and long term gameplan right now. If he does that, look for Morey's newfound undermining to cause some issues in the future. Don't think this is likely to happen, especially when it's not that bad, but you never know... perception is reality and the customers are perceiving really badly right now.

http://www.northjersey.com/sports/nets/39354007.html

"The three Texas teams are among those interested in Carter, according to league sources."

TMACFORMVP wrote:http://www.northjersey.com/sports/nets/39354007.html

"The three Texas teams are among those interested in Carter, according to league sources."

every time they posted some rumors according to league source or someone close to the team are not going to happened

The issue here is T-Mac. He's not the same after injury (and possibly never will be again) and it's affecting the team with his lackadaisical play. The team played a lot better when he was out. Artest (at this very moment) isn't a problem insofar as his effort, he goes at it hard, but he doesn't seem in sync with the rest of the offense.

If T-Mac could bring something of value back it must be looked at but really who is going to take him in his current state? I think we're going to have to ride the season out, hope for the best (while some predicted contender status, I think most hopefuls were hoping 2nd round or WCF), and make some big time moves this offseason.

Honestly I still think the team will turn on the jets after the all-star break. The team needs some rest and practice.